Every Sunday afternoon, from 12 until 2, a group of protesters picket outside of the Anaheim Police Department in protest against police brutality. Today, they had a lot of company. People marched, chanted, shouted, got interviewed, held signs, unfurled banners, chalked (without being arrested), and at one point went into the police station itself en masse and yelled at the cops. In the photo below, three or more cops would have been out to the right, from what I could tell blocking an entrance to a back room and looking very unsmiling. That’s not my thing; the people at the desk were not likely the ones who took the bad actions. Still, people gotta vent — and vent they did.

"We have a complaint about your service."

In the wake of the seven-layered atrocity (see below) of yesterday, lots of people showed up to express their displeasure. Libertarian impresario Tony Bushala was there, venturing a couple of miles south of Fullerton, along with Marlena, merijoe (in an Oath Keeper t-shirt), and various other FFFFsters. Jane Rands and Matt Leslie of the Green Party were there. Asmb. Chris Norby even came by briefly. The ANSWER coalition came down from LA, as did the Socialist Liberation Party. A good number of Occupy OC people attended — Phil and Jose, Diana, Amber (although in journalist mode for OC Weekly), me, and I think there were others. Channels 2, 4, and 7 were there. Fox News was, we believe, there in an unmarked van; a wise safety precaution on their part. Several police were sort of there, one watching from an unmarked car, several on the roof. One of the victims of the rubber bullet shooting, with her shirt lifted up to show the maroon tennis-ball-sized round bruise on her side, was there; I understand that the mother of the deceased man (now confirmed to be Manuel “Stomper” Diaz) was there. Some Latinos who didn’t seem to be affiliated with any group were there. Lots of people driving by were there in spirit, honking their support.

You know who, so far as I could tell, wasn’t there? Pretty much anyone from the mainstream of the Democratic or Republican parties. (The closest exception I could find was me, and I’m sure that many in the county Democratic Party don’t consider me an exception.) This was an outsiders’ activity — and I honestly found that incredible, having seen the video from KCAL News. This was the sort of thing that, like the Kelly Thomas video, tends to capture the attention and sympathy of those who watch it.

A few pedestrians and a few people in cars did stop briefly to chat, often just to get briefed on the basics of what happened. I went through the layers of wrongdoing for their benefit:

(1) As of the time of writing, there does not seem to have been cause to stop them in the first place. Maybe the police will come up with something, but as of the morning they had not.

(2) If the police stopped them and they ran, the police did not have to give chase. It’s reasonable for young men of minority status to fear the police.

(3) If police gave chase, they didn’t have to shoot the person to bring him down.

(4) Having shot him and brought him down, they didn’t have to shoot him in the head if he didn’t put his hands behind his back.

(5) They didn’t have to fire rubber bullets or beanbags from a rifle at mostly women and children to break up the protest against police brutality.

(6) They didn’t have to negligently (or “negligently”) allow a dog to escape and bite people.

(7) The didn’t have to try to buy up cell phone video taken of the events.

Oddly enough, the least violent of these — the last one — is the one that seems to have pushed a lot of people over the edge into the pit of pure contempt.. It’s not as bad as shooting the guy in the head or firing rubber bullets at kids, but it seems the least conceivably excusable. (It also brings into question many past actions by the APD — what video evidence of wrongdoing have they suppressed successfully by buying it from witnesses to prior shootings?)

The irony in the second photo about is, of course, the banner above the reception desk stating “Make Kindness Contagious.” I smiled when I saw that and said to myself “You first, Anaheim P.D.” My sense is that lots of others did the same.

Protests will continue next Sunday and at the next Anaheim Council meeting.

UPDATE, 1:15 a.m. 7/23: I can’t recommend highly enough the coverage in the OC Weekly of the events of Sunday, led by the world OJB’s own prodigal niece Amber Stephens. I have had my differences with G. Arellano and others Weeklings recently, but they are more than rising to this occasion — enough so that I feel less obliged to focus on news and more able to focus on analysis. They’re reporting tonight on a tip from Brandon Friedman that one or more dumpsters was back out on La Palma Avenue and on fire tonight, with a group of about 200 residents assembled there. If this is going away on its own, it won’t be soon; this has the feel of the Kelly Thomas killing redux. Shooting into the crowd crossed the line. (I hope that this sort of citizenry enraging police brutality event doesn’t become an annual “July in OC” ritual.)

I’m not going to repeat their reporting here — just click the link — but so far it looks like Lori Galloway and Tom Tait are in the lead for the Sharon Quirk-Silva and Bruce Whitaker roles in this City Council drama; we’ll see if the other councilmembers want to audition for the less savory roles.

About Greg Diamond

Somewhat verbose worker's rights and government accountability attorney, residing in northwest Brea. General Counsel of CATER, the Coalition of Anaheim Taxpayers for Economic Responsibility, a non-partisan group of people sick of local corruption.
Deposed as Northern Vice Chair of DPOC in April 2014 when his anti-corruption and pro-consumer work in Anaheim infuriated the Building Trades and Teamsters in spring 2014, who then worked with the lawless and power-mad DPOC Chair to eliminate his internal oversight.
Occasionally runs for office to challenge some nasty incumbent who would otherwise run unopposed. (Someday he might pick a fight with the intent to win rather than just dent someone. You'll know it when you see it.) He got 45% of the vote against Bob Huff for State Senate in 2012 and in 2014 became the first attorney to challenge OCDA Tony Rackauckas since 2002.
None of his pre-putsch writings ever spoke for the Democratic Party at the local, county, state, national, or galactic level, nor do they now.
A family member co-owns a business offering campaign treasurer services to Democratic candidates and the odd independent. He is very proud of her. He doesn't directly profit from her work and it doesn't affect his coverage. (He does not always favor her clients, though she might hesitate to take one that he truly hated.)
He does advise some local campaigns informally and (so far) without compensation. (If that last bit changes, he will declare the interest.)

26 Comments

I think it is clear what is happening. The people who care are not the mainstream liberals or conservatives. Ideologically they span the gamut from libertarian right to anarchist/socialist left. But they are people of principle. This was an emotional scene and affected those of us who were there for any part of it. We need a broad movement against police brutality. It should be non-partisan, and it should be among our highest political priorities. POBOR is a large part of it and it must be revised.

that is EXACTLY where i used to live in anaheim. 727 north anna dr. anna and acacia are the same street that split up as they cross la palma. it is right there on that corner and the cop cars parked on my driveway in front of my old garage. i am not convinced the protesters are all innocent. i dont speak for all of them, of course you cant blame the whole bunch for the few bad apples, but i am sure most were disorderly. police do not fire rubber bullets or have a k-9 out for no reason. that street is a gang and drug street. gang members patrol that street all day long. if you go to the end of that street you literally risk being shot. the building next door to my apartment (more apartments) had 24/7 lookouts on the porch with cellphones to watch for cops because it was surrounded by drug houses and meth labs. they use “those little kids” that were apparently hit by rubber bullets. dont be fooled, those “kids” are little bastards. there were drive by shootings on that street every single week, just doors down from me. crash squads and gang units swarmed apartments there almost as often. its a total ghetto. every night there were loud drunken fiestas blasting mariachi music until 3 or 4 am from all of the other neighbors. i called the police a few times myself because i witnessed men assaulting/beating and flat out kidnapping women in the middle of the street (it wasnt random, they obviously knew the women, but still…). i had a friend come visit me once and she walked across the street to the liquor store to get change and some random puta asked her “hey bitch you wanna box?” my friend was pregnant at the time. i was the only white person in the neighborhood and i lived alone. they would always stare or maddog me but they were also scared shitless of my german shepherd. i never had any incidents with any of them, just those bastard children throwing shit at cars. this OIS was GANG related, the news story is sensationalist bullshit to make them look like victims and get everyone upset. that neighborhood is a gang craphole and it is everyone’s fault for constantly looking out for and protecting the gang members. i dont feel sorry for any of them to be honest. i lived there for 2 years and i saw them have a shoot out with police. they shut down that whole intersection for it. this kind of stuff is an almost daily occurrence and nothing out of the ordinary for that neighborhood. why it is being presented in the news like this, i really have no idea. its nothing new at all. they dont have any respect for this country at all. they hate police and all they care about is mexico, their gang, their family, and making money on american streets with american money. i wouldnt say this if it wasnt true. “stomper” (if that doesnt sound like a violent criminal, i dont know what does) got capped for a reason. he ran from police for many reasons. there is no one to blame here but himself. 1 of the men who was shot by rubber bullets looks a lot like the guy who would always get wasted drunk from the daily all-night fiestas and pace up and down the street yelling profanities in spanish. he caused a big scene once because he started beating up somebody’s car and some women came out to try and stop him. im not sure if its the same guy, but it really does look a lot like the “borracho loco” i remember. one time he just stood in the middle of the street and ripped his shirt off / in half, screaming. :/

Vaya-Con-Dios, first of all you are probably right about that neighborhood having alot of gangs. They live everywhere. So what. I don’t care if someone is a gang member, kids throwing stuff at cars, or some guy going to the store. If there is a law against having a conversation with someone in a car then, I should be locked away for life. I don’t care what this person was doing, he did not deserve being shot in cold blood. From what I read he already fell to his knees after being shot in the butt. What more do they want? We have way too many trigger happy cops thinking they are above the law.

GREAT STORY VCD IT WILL FALL ON DEAF EARS ON THIS SITE . DID I SEE DIAMOND SAY ITS OK TO RUN FROM THE POLICE .. SEE WHAT I MEAN VCD YOUR DEALING WITH OCUPOO LOONS ON HERE .. lets wait to see what happens but not with this bunch . they will jump the gun

Since you’re convinced that I’m wrong, what makes it illegal, in the absence of the police holding one in a Terry Stop or arrest? I can tell you what makes it illegal to shoot an unarmed and already shot-down person in the head. So it’s your turn.

two points, if i might
first, you do not run from the police. that, in and of itself, gives them the justification to do what they want
second, when you show pictures of your crew/supporters, how come there are never any good looking women. the one in this post shows nothing but overweight women.

(1) You don’t run from the police if you’re under arrest or temporarily detained as with a “stop & frisk” (Terry stop.) If you’re not detained or arrested, why do you think you can’t run? It may be a bad idea, but why do you think it legally justifies the police actions?

WTF does POBAR mean? And greg,This is the first post of yours I have actually read all the way. the rest of your posts are too fukin long. Anyway, I was at the APD today. It was a pretty raucus protest.

i learned a long time ago, in that wonderful neighborhood where i grew up, that if you were congregating on the street, for whatever reason, and the cops stopped and approached, you stayed and talked. running from the cops is a very bad idea and given the mindset of the cops, it does nothing but aggravate the situation. were the cops right, of course not. but were the three young men stupid, absolutely. and, as we all should know, it is stupidity that gets us hurt and killed

Noting once again that I don’t practice criminal law: depending on the circumstances, the young men very well may have had a right to run from the cops. And it looks to me like these cops may very well have been worth running from. Maybe there was some prior history between them, for example.

It being “a bad idea” is a matter of prudence. It being “legally permissible” is part of what the wrongful death suit will be about.

wait did diamond just racial profiled the cops And it looks to me like these cops may very well have been worth running from. Maybe there was some prior history between them, for example. in the words of stanley f hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Imagine what good could be done if my fellow citizens of Anaheim rose up against the gangs and violence in a similar way. I grew up and lived at Lincoln and Anaheim, and I’m glad to be out. Shootings in the alley, bike and property theft, vehicle vandalism, graffiti. Instead of rising against ourselves, let’s blame someone else for it.

No act, just questioning why we will cower and turn the other way when our neighbors cause violence and trouble, and then wait for the police to do harm before standing up for what’s right. No justification for the shooting, and all I’ve read has been in this articles voice, so I’ve no clue how it will attempt to be justified anyhow. The police are here to serve, not write chicken s parking tickets and harass people without a front license plate. Parents can stand up and be responsible for raising their children instead of splitting after knocking up their girlfriend, or even better, be proper role models instead of drinking in the apartment complex. Drive through the areas and look at the trash and junk left around. Take some pride in your home, don’t wait to blame the man.I don’t like jag off cops either, and have had my run in’s, but those same run in’s sure get diffused a lot easier when I’m not running from them. As a product of the local justice system, I’ve turned myself around and have nothing to fear any longer.

Greg, forgot to ask you, was Ron Thomas there? Since as he says, “You know that I am always- 24/7 looking at every possible way to Jail killer cops”. And of course he hasn’t met a tv camera his doesn’t like.